JAPAN's ruling coalition set to agree on DEFENSE

[Aepsilons]

Japan's ruling coalition parties are moving toward agreement on changes in the interpretation of the Constitution to allow the nation to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

After the 9th consultative meeting on the issue on Tuesday with the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, junior coalition partner New Komeito is set to accept the LDP revised proposal. The New Komeito says the proposal is acceptable as it limits exercise of the right.

At Tuesday's meeting, LDP Vice President Masahiko Koumura proposed amendments to the wording of conditions that would allow Japan to engage in collective self-defense in a limited manner under the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.

The revised LDP draft says Japan can exercise the right if a foreign country with which Japan has close ties comes under attack, and there is clear danger that could overturn the nation's existence and the rights of its citizens. It says Japan's use of force would be limited to measures for self-defense.

The draft adds that the use of force could be justified under international law as collective self-defense. But it says under the Constitution, it would only be allowed to take the measures as unavoidable choice to ensure Japan's existence.

The New Komeito leadership says the use of force defined in the new LDP draft lies within the scope of self-defense permitted under Article 9 of the Constitution.

The New Komeito will continue intra-party discussions, as some party members still insist that deliberation of the issue is insufficient to gain public support.

The coalition parties will meet again on the matter on Friday.

The government and the Liberal Democrats aim to seek Cabinet approval on the reinterpretation of the Constitution next Tuesday.





Japan's ruling coalition set to agree on defense -NHK WORLD English-

 

[Aepsilons]

Japan to stick to defense-oriented rule under collective self-defense

Japan will remain committed to an exclusively defense-oriented policy even if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe succeeds in gaining Cabinet approval to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution to allow engagement in collective self-defense, according to a copy of a draft decision obtained by Kyodo News.

The stance is aimed at securing support from the New Komeito party, the junior partner of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, and at easing concern Japan could be dragged into a war if it removes its long-standing ban on exercising the right to collective self-defense.

In the draft decision, the government says Japan will "ensure that its history as a pacifist state will continue" while bolstering ties with the United States and other allies.

Japan will not become a military power and will stick to its non-nuclear principles, the draft says, adding Japan will pursue robust diplomacy to stem the emergence of threats, uphold the rule of law and avert conflicts.

After consultations with the ruling bloc, the government will finalize the wording of the statement that Abe now hopes to have approved as early as Tuesday.

The LDP and New Komeito are striving to find common ground over the major shift in Japan's pacifist policy, as the exercise of the right to collective self-defense would allow its Self-Defense Forces to defend allies under armed attack even when Japan itself is not.

New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi on Thursday backed the government's move to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution to allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense in a limited manner, throwing his support behind the controversial policy for the first time.

Yamaguchi said talks within the ruling coalition on security are "advancing step by step," but an agreement between his party and the LDP is unlikely to be made this week, as New Komeito, which has remained cautious about changing the interpretation, needs more time to work through intraparty divisions over the issue.

"The government has the authority to reorganize, supplement and clarify constitutional interpretations as long as the norms and logic of the Constitution can be maintained," Yamaguchi told a press conference.

"We have yet to reach a consensus and the coalition talks will likely continue into next week," he added.

Japan has long maintained that it has the right to collective self-defense under international law but cannot exercise it under Article 9, which bans the use of force to settle international disputes and only allows "the minimum" for self-defense.

Abe's LDP is hoping to change that decades-old interpretation, but some critics argue constitutional amendment is needed to enable Japan to use the right to collective self-defense.

The junior coalition partner is particularly opposed to greater use of force by the SDF overseas, fearing that Article 9 that has bounded Japan's defense policy would be gutted.

Abe has stepped up pressure on the LDP to secure New Komeito's support, forcing the coalition partner to face the dilemma of sticking to the party's stance and jeopardizing the coalition.

Japan to stick to defense-oriented rule under collective self-defense | GlobalPost

 

[Hamartia Antidote]